The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1887-06-26
MoUNTAINEER MURDERERs.
Parker Lucas viii Follow His Ances
tors to the Cailows


The New York Herald has the following
dispatch from Roanoke, Va. In tracing
the history of Parker Lucas, who was con-
victed last week in Pearisburg, Giles coun-
ty, Southwestern Virginia, aud sentenced
to be hanged on August next, for murder
ing John Bailey, neighbor and former
friend, one fails to find single mitigating
feature.
Parker Lucas, big, row-boned, hardy,
ignorant and passionate mountaineer, is in
this generation no better than the greater
part of his relatives, and reaps the same re-
ward that befell Jerry Lucas, hanged in the
fall of 1874, and Dave Lucas ParlEer's UNI
| Gle, hanged June "a 1912
INe scene of the last tragedy is near Salt
| Pond, a small lake Of spring water, about
three-quarters of mile in length by three
eighths of a mile in width, close to the top
of one OF the highest of Virginia's noun
| tains. Here, away from the world, schools,
churches and almost from civilization,
| Parker Lucas and few others of his class
| have squatted and held possession of land
| through Cheir dexterity with the rife and
the terror their brutal natures have in
| spired No one attempts to dispossess or
| evlct them from the miseroble log and mud
| novels they live in, for comparatively few
| people are anxious to form targets for I'M
erring marksmen. Certainly none of the
| good people of Giles are willing to sacrifice
| themselves for the magnificent view the
mountain affords, down the wild, rugged
| and rocky New river, which flows at its
| base Nor are they sufficiently avaricious
to claim the land for its timber or its tillage,
| when they know full well that an attempt
| to occupy would be the signal for rife prac-
! tice, which would cease only with or through
determination
| With such surroundings and family his
| tory is there room for wonder that Parker,
rough in feature, stu rougher in instinct
and passion-the inheritor OF mulderous in
| tentious the bully and terror of the neigh
| borhood--should some day follow the family
examnle'
PARKER LUCAS RIFLE PRACTICE.
Unable to read or write, perfectly ignor-
ant of the looks of the inside of q school or
church, removed from the restraints of so
Getty and law, he naturally regarded human
life as of but little more value than that of
the game secured through his skill at shoot
ing.
Taking offence at some supposed undue
| Familiarity between Bailey and his (Parker's)
wife he sent him word that if he ever set
foot on his q land death would follow.
Bailey, forgetting, or not needing the
warning, started one afternoon to the vii
lage to nave broken rifle fixed, and in fol-
lowing the path there are no roads or fences
| there, crossed portion of the land claimed
| by acas, and the latter observing him,
| went into his cabin, grabbed his rifle, hur
ried out and fired, the fatal shot striking
| Bailey in the head back/of one ear, and
| passing out the opposite side, near the eye.
Although the murder occurred about )
| o'clock in the afternoon the murderer re-
| fused to let any one approach the body
until the arrival of the Sheriff the following
morning Lucas calmly and soundly slept
| the night through, while the body of his
| victim lay but few feet away, in plain
sight uncared for and unattended to by the
few people who had gone to the place but
dared not go near the corpse. Surrendering
quietly to the Sheriff he manifested no con-
ception of having committed crime; on
the contrary, he gave evidence OF being
rather proud of his work, and since his
conviction he seems to feel only that his own
life is in danger, and expresses regret at not
killing his wife and youngest son at the
time Of shooting Bailey.
HIS GRANDFATHER's CRIME.
Jerry Lucas, Parker's grandfather, during
the war of 1879 became criminally con-
nected with an absent soldiers wife. On
the return OF the soldier, Jerry, at the earn
est solicitation of the depraved woman, in
vited him TO his place, where he was after
ward found murdered beneath a pile of
stones.
Lucas confessed that he beat his victim
| over the head with club until he supposed
| life had fled, and then went to the soldiers
house and stayed there all night. To be
satisfied in the matter he returned in the
| morning to see if the man was dead He
! found him sitting up against tree, COW
| cred with gore. The poor fellow begged
| and pleaded for his life, Offering 10 give up
! his wife and leave the country as soon as he
was able, and to never mention what had
| been done TO him. But jerry was inexor-
| able, finished the murder and concealed the
| BODY. For this murder he was hanged in
! 1874 aud ''Old RAN Parker Lucas father,
! sat under the gallows when he was hanging,
and amused himself by eating gingerbread.
AoTHER FAMILY SPECIMEN.
Dave Lucas began his career Of crime
whefi 10 years old by stealing horse, for
which nc spent five years in the penitentiary
Very shortly after his return home he
! robbed n peddler and went to the penitentiory
\ for three years more A cousin of Dawes,
| a lad OF only nineteen or twenty, was liber-
| ated from the penitentiary at the same time
| and the two cousins started for home in
! company. but the boy was never seen after
| ward Dave, in some of his drunken frollcS,
! boasted of killing the boy and throwing tho
| body in theIiyer. In fact, he even told the
| bows father that when he ran his knife into
| him lie bawied Ikea calf. The murder was
committed for the triling sum given by the
| authorities TO enable the e1-convicts TO reach
| home.
His next murder was his sisters son, with
whom he had quarrel and fight, ending in
killing his nephew with n blow from his
hand, in which he had piece of lead. He
was tried for this offence, but escaped
through some technicality.
Shortly after this cattle driver was
passing the neighborhood on foot, and Dave
was seen to follow him with a rifle, and in
a few minutes the report OF n gun was heard
in that direction and Dave returned with
blood on his clothes, but the stranger was
never seen again. No investigation seems
TO have followed this affair.
HEREDITARY INDIFFERENCE TO LIFE.
Dawes last crime was the killing of John
Rolf, poor laborer on his way home, in
Floyd county, with some scanty savings for
his family. Dave killed him within few
yards OF his residence, and, with the same
Indifference manifested by Parker, left the
body OF his victim unconcealed, and so
dreaded and obscure is the place that the
body was lying above ground for nearly
week before discovery.
The crime met with its due punishment
June "A, 1912, when the murderer died as he
had livad ,inrenafltart and without "A sign